THERE is no time to waste for Kurt Walker as he prepares to face Mexican-American Rudy Garcia at the SSE Arena on Friday’s Conlan Boxing promotion.

The Lisburn man took a significant step forward back in March as he didn’t just extend his perfect record to 11, but it was the manner of the win over James Beech Jr that really caught the eye.

Walker entered the professional code with plenty of fanfare having enjoyed a stellar amateur career that saw him claim European gold and was narrowly short of making the podium at the delayed Tokyo Olympics.

The plan was to fast-track as a professional and the majority of his early tests were intended to test and bring him along at a decent pace, but it’s now that the incline is fully starting and the bigger tests are all that interests the 29-year-old who knows there is no time to waste.

He was supposed to box at the SSE Arena in August, but a proposed fight against Masood Abdulah didn’t materialise and dropping back to a journeyman opponent wasn’t whetting the appetite.

California’s Garcia (13-1-1) ticks that box and provides the test that Walker insists he needs at this stage as he looks to build on the Beech win and begin to push towards contention.

“I was supposed to be out in August, but there were talks around a bigger fight that didn’t go through,” he revealed.

“In the end, I was glad as I didn’t want to go back and fight a journeyman and there was no opponent for me. I only want big fights now.

“People don’t understand it’s hard to fight the journeymen as they just turn up to survive. I was a high-level amateur so I only really needed one or two journeymen (to start off the pro career) but I had a few tough ones over six or eight rounds which has stood to me.”

Garcia arrives in Belfast with his own ambitions and his only career defeat came at the hands of Argentina’s Mirco Cuello who not only competed in the Tokyo Games but defeated Hamsat Shadalov along the way - the German who defeated Walker in the first stage of qualification.

With that in mind, the upcoming challenge carries the sort of jeopardy he is relishing and it’s at this level that he feels he can produce his best.

The journeymen were vital in terms of development, but their lack of ambition can make for a frustrating night, so an opponent who is there to thrive rather than survive present openings.

“On paper, James Beech was my hardest fight, but in the end, it was the easiest as he was trying to win,” he reflected.

“He came in like a normal boxer and not with the mindset of a journeyman, so he opened up and that gave me more to work with.

“This guy (Garcia) is tough. He’s only been beaten once, never been stopped or even dropped, so this will be the toughest but I’m feeling good and know that if I get beat then it’s over.

“I want a big fight now and this is a big fight as he is tough and is coming to cause me problems.

“It’s exactly what I want and I’m glad I’ve got it because the better the opponent, the better I will be.

“There are plenty of featherweights out there and you have the likes of Lee McGregor and Isaac Lowe fighting on a big Saudi card (December 21 on the Usyk-Fury 2 undercard). That could happen for me so long as I keep winning.”